Assessment & Treatment
Focused on the critical aspects of assessment and treatment in psychotherapy, this section offers resources, guidelines, and discussions on effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to improve client outcomes.
277 articles found
5 Ways to Implement Yoga in Psychotherapy
The benefits of cardiovascular exercise in improving physical and mental health have been known for several decades (e.g., Szbadi, 1988). More recently, the positive effects of yoga (a form of exercise that incorporates cardio) on disorders such as anxiety, depression, and other mental and physical conditions have been examined (e.g., Büssing, et al., 2012), particularly […]
Nicole Sciarrino, M.A., M.S. + 1 more
December 18, 2016
Effectiveness of Couple Therapy
Abstract Couple therapy outcomes tend to be judged by randomized controlled trial evidence, which comes primarily from the United States. United Kingdom and European outcome studies have tended to be naturalistic and there is a debate as to whether “laboratory” (RCT) studies are useful benchmarks for the outcomes of “clinic” (naturalistic) studies, not least because […]
David Hewison + 2 more
December 8, 2016
Financial Incentives for Therapy Attendance and Adherence
Premature termination in therapy occurs when a client discontinues therapy prior to recovering from his or her presenting concern and against clinician recommendation. Although research indicates that premature termination has decreased in recent years from 47% (Wierzbicki & Pakarik, 1993) to 20% (Swift & Greenberg, 2012), it still presents a major problem. The effectiveness of […]
Susannah Parkin, B.S.
November 21, 2016
Psychotherapy and Homelessness
An area of diversity often overlooked is socioeconomic status. Homeless clients are at an extreme end of the socioeconomic status continuum and present with concerns and stressors related to poverty. People often start psychotherapy due to a major stressor in their lives. Finally, after some apprehension, they make the initial leap to get help and […]
Astrea Greig, Psy.D.
November 15, 2016
Deliberate Practice for Early Career Psychotherapists
Domain Note: The Role of Deliberate Practice across the Professional Lifespan The Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy Education and Training Committee is excited to be providing a series of articles on the role of deliberate practice (DP) in the development of highly effective psychotherapists. The initial article (Love, Davis, & Callahan, 2016) focused on […]
Tony Rousmaniere, Psy.D.
October 28, 2016
Ethical and Safety Considerations for Use of Animals in a Therapeutic Setting
Studies have demonstrated notable benefits of the use of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) with clients (Hart & Yamamoto, 2015; Nimer & Lundahl, 2007). As AAT gains in popularity and becomes more prominently used by psychologists and psychology trainees in mental health settings (Fine, Tedeschi, & Elvove, 2015), it is crucial that the American Psychological Association […]
Kirsten Allen, M.A. + 1 more
October 19, 2016
Psychotherapy Science
Since 1992, I have been exposed to psychotherapy research, either working on other researchers’ trials or as a principal investigator. Of the time-limited approaches to which I have been exposed, interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) resonates with me as a therapist, a clinical supervisor, and a mentor. I have observed IPT meaningfully impact the lives of clients […]
Marian Tanofsky-Kraff
October 9, 2016
Steal This Metaphor!
Child therapy presents the unique opportunity for creativity amongst therapists and psychiatrists due to the limited knowledge children possess about the therapeutic process, emotions, medications, and a variety of other aspects of psychotherapy. It is a tremendous responsibility for a child’s therapist to utilize age-appropriate communication to educate a child regarding his or her diagnosis, […]
Jonathan Jenkins, Psy.D.
October 3, 2016
Measurement-Based Care and Patient-Centered Mental Health Care
In 2007, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended that health care consumers be granted access to provider performance data to inform treatment decisions. Theoretically, access to performance data would encourage patients to compare individual clinicians and preferentially choose the best performing clinician in a particular area of need or geographic location. This recommendation relies on […]
James F. Boswell, Ph.D. + 1 more
September 25, 2016
When It Is Not a Good Fit
Abstract Group psychotherapy provides unique opportunities for clinical errors in the selection of patients and composition of therapy groups. This article introduces some of the difficulties and complexities that can be associated with group composition and patient selection errors. Clinical vignettes from psychodynamic/interpersonal psychotherapy groups are used to illustrate three variations of group composition and selection errors. The […]
David Kealy, Ph.D. + 3 more
September 19, 2016
Personality Disorder Treatment in Private Practice
Personality disorders are a common phenomenon encountered by psychologists in private practice as well as other health care settings. The prevalence of personality disorders in the general population is estimated to be about 9%, according the results from a National Institutes of Health funded national comorbidity study (Lenzenweger, Lane, Loranger, & Kessler, 2007). Having the […]
Jeffrey J. Magnavita, Ph.D., ABPP
August 12, 2016
7 Ways to Be More Mindful
The incorporation of a Westernized and decontextualized version of mindfulness into psychotherapy over the last two decades has been a significant trend, while for a hip segment of the popular culture, it has become nothing less than a rage. Although not yet as ubiquitous in the marketplace as yoga, it is certainly nipping at its […]
Steven J. Hendlin, Ph.D.
July 31, 2016